NOVEL NEXT chapter 27
27. The Vanished Elg
In the morning, unable to bear Elg’s unusually late arrival, Ayla sent Gora to fetch him. Despite the scheduled time long having passed, Waid, feeling anxious about his absence, accompanied him. However, Gora, sensing something off in the unresponsive room no matter how much he knocked on the door, used his strength to force it open.
“Hey, hey… what the hell is this…?”
There lay only Eg on the bed and a slightly moved chair.
That was all.
“Why is Elg…?”
Waid let the words slip out.
Yes, that’s right; Elg is a dark knight. Then why
isn’t he taking the demon girl with him?
Does he have a grudge against dark knights? If so, he could have
killed Eg.
“Waid, please tell Ayla and the resistance members about this.”
I conveyed this and then woke Eg.
“U, uyu? Daddy?”
Upon seeing my face, he looked around, searching for Elg but
couldn’t find him.
“Daddy? Daddy?”
He searched the room frantically; I felt a bit sorry for him, but I thought I had to get him to a safe place quickly, so I tried to pull him away when he said,
“Glasses…? Daddy…?”
Eg was holding a pair of glasses.
Wait a minute, Elg never had glasses, and neither did Eg, of course. So what are these glasses?
“This might be a clue, Eg…!”
—
Unaware of my feelings, Egu tilted his head,
sniffing the glasses and saying, “Papa…?”
I placed a hood over Egu and we made our way
to where the Resistance was gathering.
◇◇◇
We rented out the inn’s dining hall, and the Resistance members were lined up.
Standing in front were Wide and Aira.
“The reason we’ve gathered today is that our ally, Elgu, has been kidnapped.”
Wide declared at the start of the meeting.
Those who knew about Elgu murmured,
and even those who didn’t recognize the name heightened their awareness of the situation by observing the reactions around them.
“Let’s go through this step by step.
First, the incident occurred between last night and this morning.
I can confirm that Aira and I were at the inn during that time.
Then this morning, when Gora went to wake him,
only Elgu was missing.”
Perhaps realizing the gravity of the situation,
the murmurs among the Resistance members grew louder.
“And we believe the Great Sage is the culprit.”
At those words, the members of the Resistance fell silent,
for the Great Sage was someone of exceptional virtue,
and a hush enveloped the room.
“The reason is that there was a magically imbued hand mirror in Elgu’s room.
Upon investigation, it turned out to be a magical tool with the effect of teleportation.”
That statement was a significant piece of evidence,
especially since most of the Resistance members hailed from the Magical Empire.
Teleportation was among the most crucial of magical tools,
and using it was no easy feat; it seemed too perfect as a supporting reason.
“However, there was one unclear point regarding the Great Sage:
why did he help us?”
“Regarding this, it seems likely that his objective was Elgu,
but we don’t know why he targeted Elgu.”
Aira fell silent at that point.
“Nevertheless, it’s certain that the Great Sage is acting with some purpose,
and our comrade Elgu is involved in this.
Then we must help him!”
At those words, several members of the Resistance, led by Gora, voiced their agreement.
“Everyone’s feelings have united!
Then let’s hold a strategy meeting!!”